“We knew what was at stake coming into this game.”
Dublin were soundly beaten by Tyrone, 2-20 to 1-16, in their final National Football League Division 1 game on Sunday.
The Sky Blues were aiming to make the league final, which will now be contested by Mayo and Kerry, but instead finished fifth after their performance at Healy Park in Omagh.
Despite ending their league campaign with three wins and just two points behind leaders Mayo, Tyrone have been relegated to Division 2 along with Derry.
While Dublin boss Dessie Farrell insisted he was happy with the campaign overall, his assessment that his side did not bring enough ‘fight’ to a big game is not a mentality a team wants for the championship.
Farrell said: “We never brought the intensity or fight that was required.
“We knew what was at stake coming into this game. It was a big game for us, we knew they’d be very competitive.
“It was a big game for us, in terms of making it to a league final and another competitive game which would have been very welcome.
“Overall, when we take a step back and look at the league in its entirety, it was reasonably positive based on where we were initially with a lot of change in the squad and new lads getting blooded.
“Being one win away from a National League final, we would have taken that at the start. All in all, we’re happy enough with how the league has gone.”
